diff --git a/package/efl/efl.mk b/package/efl/efl.mk
index f1e69f8a23..d8364ed76f 100644
--- a/package/efl/efl.mk
+++ b/package/efl/efl.mk
@@ -257,6 +257,8 @@ EFL_CONF_OPTS += --disable-image-loader-webp
 endif
 
 ifeq ($(BR2_PACKAGE_POPPLER),y)
+# poppler needs c++11
+EFL_CONF_ENV += CXXFLAGS="$(TARGET_CXXFLAGS) -std=c++11"
 EFL_DEPENDENCIES += poppler
 EFL_CONF_OPTS += --enable-poppler
 else